It’s nearly 20 years since someone set me the following challenge. Can you name five songs that reached #1 in the UK that do not contain the title anywhere in the lyrics of the song? (Instrumentals don’t count.) It has been one of my favourite trivia questions ever since. I managed to get to five… Continue reading UK #1 hit singles: the title is not in the song
Liam Gallagher is back. His new single, “Wall of Glass” (check out the official video here), has been all over the radio, or at least the radio stations I listen to, and he gave a compelling performance at Glastonbury. I watched it from the comfort of my living-room early one Sunday morning after a later-than-planned… Continue reading Word of the week: paraphernalia
As I noted in this piece from last December, in my teenage years I often had front row seats for gigs at the Hammersmith Odeon. By the age of 15 I had moved on to smaller venues and venues without seating, from tiny pubs and clubs to places like the Lyceum and the Roundhouse. The… Continue reading Sharing a drink with Ozzy Osbourne
Two weeks ago I took my 12-year-old son into town for Record Store Day. We took rather a long time to leave the house. If we had been more organized we might have seen some live music at Rough Trade, or Rough Trade West as it’s now called, near Portobello Road. That’s where he saw… Continue reading Album shopping on a Saturday afternoon
A question in the last series of “Only Connect”, BBC2’s fiendish weekly quiz show, was right up my alley and has been on my mind ever since. It listed the four artists who have reached #1 in the UK charts and also won an acting Oscar (Best Actor or Best Actress). Can you think of… Continue reading Music and movies: three questions from “Only Connect”
Last year I wrote a few “Coincidence Corner” pieces, light-hearted reviews of the themes, stories or references that recur if you keep your eyes and ears open, no matter what you read, watch or listen to. If you’re not finding “coincidences” it might be a sign that you’re not reading, watching or listening to much… Continue reading A few little coincidences for January
Rest in peace George Michael. So, after David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Caroline Aherne and dozens of others taken before their time, 2016 had another unwelcome trick up its sleeve. We heard the news on Christmas night after we returned from a long and enjoyable lunch with friends. It wasn’t on the 10pm news, which we… Continue reading Do you enjoy what you do?
As a teenager I went to many gigs at the Hammersmith Odeon, and even went to a couple before turning 13. It was the largest cinema in the UK at the time (around 3,500 seats) and the scene of many childhood visits to the pictures, like those recalled in this piece. By the time I… Continue reading Front row seats at the Hammersmith Odeon
Bob Dylan is the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature. Good. I’m happy about that. As I wrote in a piece last year I have friends who have told me how much they hate Bob Dylan. I am still friends with these people but we are never going to agree on this one.… Continue reading Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate
Here are the answers to yesterday’s piece challenging you to name UK #1 hit singles containing boys’ names. In year order: Name Artist Song Year Joe Frankie Laine Hey Joe 1953 Hernando Johnston Brothers Hernando’s Hideaway 1955 Mack Bobby Darin Mack The Knife 1959 Johnny John Leyton Johnny Remember Me 1961 Michael Highwaymen Michael 1961… Continue reading UK #1 hit singles containing boys’ names (the answers)
The Compartments 